Fight or Flight
by OkapiSeeks
Summary: Lassiter and O'Hara run into big trouble while transporting a prisoner back to Santa Barbara. Action/adventure.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. I wanted to write an action adventure for just Lassie and Jules. I hope you like it!

**Fight or Flight**

Juliet O'Hara leaned forward to turn up the radio when she noticed one of her favorite songs playing. She began to bob her head, just a little at first, somewhat self-conscious about her partner who was driving the Crown Vic, but when her favorite part came on she let herself bounce on the seat to the beat. She even sang along under her breath. She glanced at Carlton Lassiter out of the corner of her eye to make sure he wasn't getting too irritated by her music. Not that she'd stop listening, of course, but she'd learned over the past few years to monitor her partner's moods. She nearly laughed out loud when she saw that he was almost imperceptibly nodding his head to the beat as well. He had definitely changed since they'd first been made partners. She gave herself a lot of credit that he was more open and relaxed around other people than he used to be. And she gave him a lot of credit for making her more confident and authoritative in her police work and an all-around better detective.

When the song ended and a commercial came on, Lassiter turned off the radio. "Are you getting a signal yet? We should call the Banksville sheriff and give him an ETA."

Juliet checked her cell phone and found that it finally had a signal. They'd been driving for over two hours into the rural areas north of Santa Barbara, and they'd lost cell phone reception for a good portion of the drive.

"Yes, I'll call them. How much longer will it take?"

"About 20 minutes," said Lassiter.

Juliet made the call to the sheriff's department of the small town. They were on their way to retrieve a suspect wanted for several drug-related crimes in Santa Barbara. They were notified earlier that afternoon that he'd been arrested in Banksville for a traffic violation.

"That's odd," she said after hanging up the phone. "They seem surprised that we're on our way."

Lassiter grunted. "Well, it is almost 6PM. They're probably all getting ready for bed. I mean, the sun's going to be down in 2 hours!"

"Carlton," said Juliet with an exasperated sigh. "You're going to be polite to the Banksville sheriff, right? He did catch Earle for us."

"Of course. I was just joking," said Lassiter with a wave of his hand. "You forget, I grew up spending my weekends out in the country. Early to bed, early to rise, and so forth." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then he grimaced. "That was such a pain in the ass."

Juliet laughed. Lassiter flashed her a quick grin.

"Well, I don't think this area will be very rural for long," said Juliet. "Did you notice that construction about 20 miles back? It looked like a huge new subdivision."

Lassiter nodded. "Suburban sprawl. Bessy the Cow over there's going to have a Starbuck's in her pasture pretty soon."

Juliet smiled and gazed out the window for the last part of the drive. It had been a nice day, with a lot of blue sky and just enough fluffy white clouds to make it picture perfect. She was actually pretty happy that they'd had to take such a long drive. Most days, she was stuck in the station or running around town and didn't get to sit back and enjoy the beautiful weather. By the time they collected their suspect, Billy Earle, and headed back to town, she figured they'd be treated to a spectacular sunset.

When they arrived in Banksville, Lassiter made his way through a couple of the only half dozen traffic lights of the town and pulled into the small parking lot at the side of the sheriff's office building. A Banksville squad car was parked on the street at the front of the building and another one was in the lot. Juliet's cell phone rang as Lassiter finished parking.

"It's the Chief. She's probably checking in before she goes home for the night," said Juliet.

"I'm going to get the paperwork started in there," said Lassiter.

Juliet watched him disappear around the front corner of the building as she updated Chief Vick. The phone call lasted several minutes as Vick asked Juliet several questions about the case and one of their other pending cases.

Lassiter opened the door of the sheriff's office, setting off the small bell hanging from the top edge of the door frame. He could hear two voices cut short a conversation at the sound of the bell. As he continued into the office, he had a feeling the two men in the room, the sheriff and a deputy, had been having a heated discussion and wondered if it was about their prisoner. Flashing back to O'Hara's admonishment earlier, he smiled warmly and held out his hand to the sheriff.

"Sheriff James? Carlton Lassiter, Head Detective, SBPD," he said as he gave the man a firm handshake. "My partner and I are here for Billy Earle."

"Hey there, Detective Lassiter. Welcome to Banksville. This is my deputy, Andy Spark."

"Howdy," said the deputy as he shook Lassiter's hand. He wore an expression that seemed to be half puzzled, half peeved. "We kinda figured you all would wait until tomorrow to come for Billy."

"Well, our afternoon was pretty open, and Earle holds the key to a major case we're putting together in Santa Barbara. We wanted to get him back as soon as we could," said Lassiter, keeping the bite of exasperation he was starting to feel out of his voice. He didn't appreciate having to explain their motivations to these officers. "Is he ready to go, then?"

Deputy Spark glanced at the sheriff, grimacing slightly, and said, "I told Joe he could talk to Billy. He wanted to real bad."

"Whatever your brother wants to say to Billy, he'll have to do it on the phone. Or he can take a drive to Santa Barbara. You know that, Andy," said the sheriff with a hint of resignation in his voice, as if he was used to having to explain things to his deputy.

"Yeah, alright," said Andy with a poorly hidden sullen tone. "Well, I gotta go, got a thing to check out. Goodbye, detective." He stalked out the door and climbed into the squad car that was parked out front, then he drove off. Lassiter raised his eyebrows as he watched the deputy leave.

"Don't mind him, detective. He's a rookie, and he's still getting used to police work and dealing with other police departments. He and Billy grew up together, too, so I think that's got him a bit off kilter about this whole affair."

"It's no problem at all, Sheriff," said Lassiter. He glanced over his shoulder as the little bell rang again behind him.

"Hi there, sorry about that. I had to speak to the Chief," said Juliet as she walked in to stand beside Lassiter.

"Sheriff James, this is my partner, Detective O'Hara," said Lassiter as Juliet and the sheriff shook hands.

"Nice to meet you, detective," said the sheriff with a warm smile.

"You too," said Juliet. She looked around the room. "Is Earle ready to go?"

"Yes, just a moment, let me get him for you," said the sheriff. He handed a file to Lassiter. "Here's the paperwork, if you would." He went through a door in the back of the office.

"He seems nice," said Juliet as Lassiter started signing the papers. He just grunted a response. "Who was that other officer?"

"Deputy Spark. He seemed less nice," said Lassiter as he scanned the forms.

Juliet just shrugged, wondering if Lassiter had said something that ticked off the deputy, without realizing it. She knew her partner could sometimes be a little oblivious of how his words or tone sounded to other people.

After a few minutes, the sheriff reappeared from the rear door of the office leading a tall, lanky man who had his hands cuffed in front. Billy Earle had thin brown hair falling almost shoulder-length and hanging in front of his light gray eyes. He was gaunt and pale and seemed extremely nervous, eyes darting from Juliet to Lassiter and back to Juliet. He seemed surprised to see a female detective. Juliet sighed a bit inwardly.

"Here you go, then," said the sheriff, handing Earle off to Juliet who took him by the elbow as he loomed next to her. "And here's his possessions. Well, it's just a cell phone, I guess. It's all he had on him." He handed Juliet a small brown bag. He took the paperwork from Lassiter, and then turned back to Earle. "I always told you to stop all that messing around, Billy. I wish you'd listened."

Earle nodded but kept his eyes on the floor. He was sweating and kept shifting his feet.

"Thank you, Sheriff," said Lassiter as he shook his hand. "We appreciate your cooperation on this case. It's going to help get a lot of bad guys and drugs off the streets."

"Well, then, that's a good thing. You take care, now. Drive safely."

Lassiter took hold of Earle's other elbow and led him out of the office with Juliet following up behind. When they got to the car, Lassiter opened the back door and made sure Earle didn't hit his head as he climbed in, which was a trick. Earle was well over 6 feet tall.

"In you go, beanpole," said Lassiter. He saw Juliet's look of admonishment and just shrugged as he climbed in behind the wheel.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Lassiter glanced at Earle in the rearview and said, "Okay, we've got a long drive Mr. Earle, so I'm going to lay out the ground rules. No yelling or spitting or kicking the seats or any other disruptive behavior or we will pull over and cuff your hands behind your back, which will be extremely uncomfortable for you. Do you understand?"

Earle nodded and tucked his chin to his chest as if he was studying his own knees or an interesting piece of lint on the car's floor.

"And no incessant talking or nervous rambling about stupid things, or about anything for that matter. Silence is golden."

Juliet shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Earle's eyes stayed trained on the floor, only occasionally flicking up to meet with Lassiter's in the mirror. "What if I have to go to the bathroom?" he asked meekly.

"We'll stop once along the way. Don't ask for food, we're only going to be driving for 3 hours. You won't starve to death. Anything else?"

Earle shook his head and peered out the windows, occasionally twisting to look out the back windshield as they made their way through the small town and back onto the highway towards Santa Barbara. They drove along the winding road and over rolling hills as the sun sank closer to the horizon. After a half hour or so of silence, Earle shifted in his seat and cleared his throat.

"Am I going to be taken to prison tonight?" he asked.

Lassiter and Juliet exchanged a look.

"You'll be kept in the SBPD holding cells for tonight while we get you processed, and then we'll be questioning you," said Juliet. "Then probably tomorrow you'll be arraigned."

"Can't I just go to prison tonight?"

Lassiter half-turned to look at Earle. "What are you talking about? Why do you want to go to prison tonight?" He turned back to the road.

"It's safer there, isn't it? I mean, there's more guards and stuff," he said almost in a whisper, looking out the windows as if looking to see if they were being followed.

"Do you think you're in danger, Mr. Earle?" asked Juliet. She kept her tone neutral and unthreatening. She wanted him to keep talking so they could figure out if he was being paranoid or if he perhaps had a valid fear. "Why do you think that?"

"Look, I think we got mixed up with something bad. More bad than the normal stuff. I mean, drugs and stuff, can get into some bad scenes and deal with real wacko people, but these new guys..."

Lassiter's eyebrows raised and Juliet's scrunched together as they exchanged another look. "Mr. Earle, you were read your rights by the sheriff, I believe. Is that correct?" asked Lassiter, wanting to cover all the bases. The kid seemed on the verge of making a confession right there in the car.

"Yeah, the silent thing and attorney, yeah. I dunno, though. I got a bad feeling. See, I think I got some stuff they want back."

"Who wants back?" asked Juliet.

"These guys. I think they were Mexican, but they were really bad dudes, you know? I dunno. Just let me think for a few minutes," he said as he slumped in the seat, laying his head on the back of it.

Juliet looked at Lassiter, trying to convey with her expression the question of what to do next. He gave a slight shrug and tilted his head as if to say let it go for now and see what happens. Juliet gazed out the windshield, considering Earle's words. He was afraid of something, apparently of some people. Perhaps it was a drug deal gone bad. They were taking him back to Santa Barbara to face charges of drug dealing, and they'd been hoping he would give up some names of dealers higher up the ladder from him. Maybe these were the people he was afraid of now. The mention of Mexicans was a new twist. They hadn't been looking into Mexican gangs specifically, but there had been a spike in drug cartel activity in their area in recent years. Maybe they'd struck gold with Earle and would be able to open a line of investigation into cartels. With as talkative as he'd already been, she started to feel hopeful that he would be a big help in identifying and implicating more suspects. She looked out the side window at the sun approaching the horizon and thought again about what a pretty sunset it was going to be.

"Okay, see, I was at this guy's house the other night and he had some Mexican dudes there and I don't know why but I had my phone out to text my girl and I kinda hit the camera button by accident," said Earle, talking quickly as if wanting to get it all out before he changed his mind. "And I got this picture of them but they didn't know it, and I'm not sure why I even kept it on there. But then later that night the guy was, like, gone because I think he tried to back out on the deal and then I knew I was screwed, you know, really screwed."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what do you mean the guy was gone?" asked Lassiter, staring intently now at Earle in the rearview.

"C'mon man, you know what I mean. I didn't see it or anything, but he wasn't there the next day. And those guys were eyeing me, then, like I was next or something if I made the wrong move. And then I go and run that light in town and dumbass Andy pulls me over."

Juliet blinked. She put her hand on the small paper bag the sheriff had given her that was lying on the seat. "Are you saying these men killed your friend? Was this a drug deal?"

"Well, we were talking about deals, setting up a system. These dudes are _connected_, big time. I don't know why he wanted to do it, man. What a stupid fucking idea," he said with despair. He leaned forward in the seat and put his face in his hands. "Why did he think we could deal with these guys?"

"Who? Why did who think?" asked Lassiter. He was steering around a wide curve in the road that was skirting a hill on the left. The beginning of the subdivision construction area was visible up ahead on the right side of the road, a wide area of cleared land dotted with large construction vehicles. Lassiter saw a dark blue SUV sitting across both lanes of the highway ahead of them and felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck as he slowed the car to a crawl. "What the hell."

The back window of the Crown Vic exploded inwards. Broken safety glass pelted Lassiter and O'Hara from behind as Lassiter slammed on the brakes. Juliet gasped and threw her hands out to brace herself. Her left hand grabbed Lassiter's upper arm, and she felt her elbow hit something hard. She glanced back between the seats and saw Earle slumped forward, his head hitting her arm. There was a bloody hole between his shoulder blades.

"Carlton!"

"I see them," said Lassiter grimly as he stomped on the accelerator.

Juliet turned to look out the windshield. Three men had exited the SUV. They all had guns. "Oh my god," she whispered.

"Hang on!" Lassiter pulled hard on the wheel and slammed the brakes again to spin the car 180 degrees. Then he smashed the accelerator as faint popping noises reached them through the opened back window. "Stay down!" The tires squealed as they rounded the curve of the road.

"Earle's dead," said Juliet as she hunkered down in her seat and pulled out her gun. She saw that the paper package had slid off the seat to the floor. She picked it up and stuffed it into the pocket of her suit coat.

Lassiter grimaced and checked the rearview. The passenger-side rearview mirror exploded. Then a hole appeared in the hood of the car. The engine started to make a clunking noise.

"Dammit!" yelled Lassiter, pulling the car hard to the left. "There's a shooter on that hill."

He guided the Crown Vic onto a small, overgrown dirt road that probably accessed some rancher's field or hunter's base camp. The car skidded and fishtailed on the dirt as he accelerated faster, hoping to get out of range of the sniper. The engine continued to knock and clang as the car bounced over the rutted trail. They moved deeper into brushy undergrowth and scraggly trees. The road wound over a rolling hill and into a gully that helped hide their progress from the highway. Lassiter hoped it would be enough to shake the pursuit of the SUV before the sniper was able to tell them where they'd gone. He had to build up as much distance as he could along the trail. He hoped it would curve back to the highway eventually, but he was afraid it wouldn't. They'd really be in trouble then. From the sound of the engine, he knew he'd better start planning for deep trouble. He glanced at O'Hara. She seemed shaken, but she wasn't panicking as she checked her gun and then dug her cell phone out of her pocket. He felt a pang in his chest, but pushed away all of the fear-tinged thoughts starting to crowd his brain. He had to focus on getting them through this. There would be time for fear later.

"Signal?" he asked grimly as he struggled to keep the car on the rough track.

"No," said Juliet, stuffing the useless phone back into her pocket. "Where are we going?"

"Away," said Lassiter. "I don't know. If we can circle back to the road, or find a house with a phone, although I'd hate to lead them to innocent people."

Juliet grimaced and nodded. "That construction site was close. Maybe the office trailer, if we can find it?"

Lassiter nodded. They both grunted as the car hit a huge rut and bounced them around. Lassiter fought the wheel as the tires dropped off a sharp edge of the trail and pulled the car towards the brush. Lassiter managed to correct and get back on the increasingly rough trail, but the engine finally gave out with a loud clang and shudder. The car rolled to a stop.

"That's it," said Lassiter, uncomfortably aware of his heart pounding in his chest. He pushed the button to open the trunk and looked at Juliet. "We have to find cover."

"Right," she said, sounding breathless. "I saw a lot of machines at the construction site. Maybe we can use them to hide while we look for the office."

Lassiter nodded and looked, finally, at Earle's body in the back seat, swallowing hard at the site. He blinked and met Juliet's eyes again. "Are you okay?"

She took a deep breath and half-shook her head, but then she said, "I'm good, partner. Let's go."

They got out and stepped first to the trunk. "Put on your vest," said Lassiter as he took off his suit coat and tie and shoulder harness and put on his own vest. He placed his gun in a belt holster and clipped it to his belt. Juliet handed him some extra ammunition and clipped a flashlight to her belt. Lassiter kept looking over his shoulder at the road, peering into the gathering dusk for signs of dust being kicked up by pursuit. "At least it'll be dark soon. Come on."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Juliet, above all, was glad she'd decided to wear her boots instead of the pumps she'd first put on that morning. For some reason the pumps had felt wrong with her pant suit, and she'd changed them. She couldn't imagine climbing the dusty, loose stones of the gully's side in heels. Of course, she would never have imagined that she and Lassiter would be running for their lives away from at least four gunmen after having a prisoner under their protection assassinated and their car disabled in the middle of nowhere. She crested the side of the gully in Lassiter's wake and gazed across the expanse of scrubby bushes and sparse trees. The edge of the construction area was about 80 yards away. There wasn't much cover before it, and there was arguably less in the construction area except for the earth movers and some piles of dirt and other excavation materials. The construction project was in the earliest stages of earth clearing and grading. She couldn't see anything that looked like an office trailer from her vantage point.

Lassiter was turning to look in all directions, but mostly behind, trying to gauge their pursuit. He had a look on his face she'd seen only a couple of times. Once, when he'd been accused of murder, and once when he'd almost been murdered in front of her. Shock, consternation and fear tightened the skin around his eyes to near-squinting and set his mouth in a grim line. She was feeling the same way, almost overwhelmingly so, but she tried to focus only on the immediate needs of finding shelter and communication. They needed to survive, and to do that, they'd need to hide.

"Okay, stay low, but move quickly. I think I see dust on the road. We have to get under cover," said Lassiter in a low voice. "Let's get to those earth movers, then we'll hopefully be able scout out our next move."

Juliet nodded. She crouched low and kept on his heels as Lassiter moved towards the construction area in a half-jog. When they were at the edge of the cleared area, she heard a faint call from behind and felt her heart leap into her throat. They'd found the car. Lassiter heard the voices too and pulled out his gun. He motioned for her to stay low and run fast for a large backhoe that was about 20 yards away. She pulled her gun too and got as low as she could while still moving as quickly as possible. She couldn't resist glancing briefly over her shoulder, but she wasn't able to see anyone through the scrub bushes. The sun was also almost down, making any distance vision much more difficult.

"Here, here!" hissed Lassiter. He scrambled around the front end of the earth mover and reached for her, pulling her down beside him with their backs to the large muddy tire. She realized she was panting for breath from the exertion of running in a crouch and from fear. Taking some deep breaths, she glanced around and saw a large front loader bucket detached and laying on the ground a few yards from the backhoe, its curved opening facing them. There was also a smaller backhoe parked about 10 yards beyond the bucket.

More voices drifted to them on the wind, and they were getting louder. Juliet could just make out that the voices were speaking in Spanish, but she still couldn't tell how many men were coming. There had been three in the SUV and one on the hill somewhere. It was impossible to tell yet from which direction the men were approaching. They could approach as a group from the gully, or they could be splitting up to cover more of the open ground and check around more of the earth movers. Since she could hear their voices, she suspected they were separating and having to call to each other.

"It sounds like they're spreading out to try and catch us in a net," said Lassiter, echoing Juliet's thoughts. "That's okay. We'll have a better chance of picking them off." The sweat on his brow and the clenching of his jaw belied the confidence of his words.

Juliet grimaced and tried to will her heart to stop beating so hard. She leaned over to peer around the edge of the machine, but she couldn't see anything. The shadows were getting heavier as the sun hovered just above the horizon. She wanted to get a better vantage point and looked again at the loose bucket. It was large enough for her to fit in, her and half a dozen friends, even. She could use the side of it as shelter in case gunfire did erupt, and she'd be able to see over it to look for their pursuers.

"I'm going over there," she whispered to Lassiter, gesturing to the bucket.

His eyes widened, looking from her to the bucket and back. He seemed to be about to protest, but she felt certain it would help them get a better vantage on their attackers. She dashed quickly for the bucket before he could voice his concerns. When she reached it, she hunkered down inside the giant metal curve and looked back at Lassiter. He flashed her an irritated look, but then he tucked himself as much as he could behind the giant tire and tried to look under the machine to see if anyone was approaching. Juliet peered over the side of the bucket, back towards the gully, having a better view of the area. She saw the men coming towards them. Three of them. She ducked down again quickly and became acutely aware of how her grip on her gun felt suddenly slippery with sweat.

Juliet waved at Lassiter and held up three fingers, then pointed in the direction of the men. Lassiter frowned and nodded. He tried again to peer through gaps in the big machine. Juliet took a deep breath and eased up to peek over the edge of the bucket again. The men were much closer. They were staring intently at both backhoes, and they had resorted to hand signals as well. She saw one man peel off towards the other backhoe, one headed roughly for her bucket, and the third man headed around the other side of Lassiter's backhoe. She sat down again and signaled to Lassiter the directions the men were taking. He licked his lips and considered, then he signaled for her to take out the man coming from the other side of his backhoe. He would take the man coming to the bucket and then would try to get the man heading to the other backhoe. She hunkered down and raised her gun, eyeing the back end of the backhoe where she assumed the man would appear. She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady and pushed all other thoughts out of her head.

The problem with their plan was the inconsistent speeds with which the men moved. She heard footsteps and knew the man coming up the middle had arrived, and he would have a clear view of Lassiter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her partner with his gun raised and holding still as a stone, but then the man, who by that point was standing next to her bucket, gave a yell as his eyes must've found his target.

"Police! Freeze!" yelled Lassiter.

A shot rang out, and Juliet flinched despite herself. She looked to make sure Lassiter was okay and saw him fire his weapon. There was a deep grunt, almost a gasp, next to her, and then a thump. She saw Lassiter rise up to approach the fallen man when movement caught the corner of her eye, and she realized she'd let her attention stray too much. The second man came around the back end of the backhoe at a run, gun raised, and saw her instantly. She moved her gun to target him center mass while the thought that she was too late flashed in her brain. She pulled the trigger a micro-second after seeing the flash from his muzzle. She heard another shot ring out as the bullet hit her. Her vision exploded in stars and she felt her breath escape, seemingly never to return.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Lassiter felt a drop of sweat trickle down his spine. He tried again to see through the blasted machine, but the gaps were not giving him any useful views. He glanced over to Juliet crouched down in the bucket. He was still kicking himself for letting her go over there, but he had to grudgingly admit that she had a better view of the approaching men. She signaled the directions the men were taking. He signaled back and saw her set herself to cover the man coming around from behind him. Time seemed to stop for a few moments and he felt the progress of another drop of sweat down each of his vertebrae. In the distance he could just make out the third man heading towards the other backhoe, then suddenly time sped up and the first man appeared in front of him. The man was scanning the area around the bucket as he approached it, unable to see Juliet tucked down against the side nearest to him. Then he turned to the backhoe. Lassiter had a bead on him and kept as still as possible, willing himself to blend in with the muddy tire and bright yellow metal. Finally, he was spotted. He yelled a warning, from habit as much as anything. Luckily, the other man seemed surprised and perhaps nervous, because his shot was rushed and well off-target. Lassiter's shot was fatal. He stood up, meaning to check the body and to help Juliet cover the second man, when the shot rang out from his left. He heard Juliet's weapon fire as he spun to face the gunman. The man was staggering from Juliet's hit but wasn't down yet. Lassiter fired, and the man fell.

He turned to check Juliet and felt his heart leap into his throat. She was laying in a fetal position in the bucket, her gun arm stretched out and blocking her face. She wasn't moving.

"Juliet!" he gasped.

As he started towards her, he saw movement beyond the bucket. The third man. He raised his gun again and ran to the bucket, ducking down and using the top of it to brace his arms. The man was yelling, calling out to his companions. He could see their unmoving bodies and backed up as he waved his gun and continued to yell.

"Police!" yelled Lassiter. "Put the gun down now or I will shoot you!"

The man turned and ran back towards the gully. Lassiter cursed, wondering what kind of backup the man might summon. But there were more important things to worry about first. He put his gun in his holster and bent to check his partner. He put his hand on her neck and felt a strong pulse. Her throat muscles seemed to be contracting and he realized she was making a faint, gasping noise.

"Juliet? Take it easy, you're okay now," he said as he took the gun from her hand and pulled her arm away from her face.

She started to roll over so he helped her ease onto her back. The bullet had hit the vest in her belly just below her ribs, and the force of it had apparently knocked the wind out of her. Lassiter felt a wave of relief rush through him. He took a deep breath and blew it out again.

"Take it easy," he said again. "You had your wind knocked out, but you're going to be fine. We got two of them, partner. You did great."

Juliet was still struggling for breath, but she nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. He sat down and rested his arms on his knees, feeling the after-effects of adrenalin and intense relief that his partner wasn't seriously hurt. He thought about what they had to do next. The sniper was still unaccounted for and could be stalking them that very moment. And the man who escaped would undoubtedly meet up with him. There could be even more bad guys in the wings for all they knew. He felt a strange combination of frustration and helplessness and fear that he hadn't felt since that day at the cemetery. Only this time it wasn't just him with a gun to his head. He shook off those thoughts, admonishing himself for wallowing. They weren't trapped yet, and they could obviously fight back quite effectively. Maybe they'd shown enough teeth to chase all of the bad guys off for good. He wished. Oh, how he wished, but he knew that they couldn't sit around for long. As soon as Juliet recovered her breath they'd have to move out to find better shelter. The sky above them was ablaze with the late sunset, and they'd be under the cover of darkness within minutes.

"God that hurts," gasped Juliet as she sat up gingerly and wrapped her arms around her midsection.

"Do you think you can get up? We need to move."

"Yes, I think so," she said as she leaned from side to side testing herself. "It just feels like a really hard punch to the gut."

Lassiter blinked and looked a question at her as he gave her gun back.

"I grew up with brothers," she said by way of explanation.

"Okay, just let me know if anything seems to hurt too much after we start moving."

She nodded and gave him a weak smile. "I will. I'm ready now."

"Let's go," he said, rising to a crouch to scan the area, making sure no one had crept up on them.

Lassiter took a moment to check the bodies of the two men they'd shot. Both were definitely dead. He patted them down briefly to try and find identification, but they had no wallets, and he didn't want to take the time to search all of their pockets. He took their guns, stowing one in the back of his waistband. He turned to Juliet to hand her the other gun and found her staring over the bucket to the west.

"What is it?" he asked, wondering if she'd spotted something either good or bad.

"Nothing," she said, taking the gun he held out to her and tucking it in her waistband. "It was a pretty sunset."

"Well, let's head off into it, at least for a little while. They'll expect us to run straight for the road, so maybe we'll throw them off. We can take a wide arc before heading back to the highway, and hopefully we'll find a way to get help."

They walked quickly past the smaller backhoe and paused for a moment to take stock of the terrain. The graded construction area continued for another hundred yards or so, and then apparently ended in a short drop-off back to the regular scrub brush and gully-pocked landscape. Not far beyond the graded edge rose a small ridge, blocking their sight of anything further west. To the south was just more of the cleared area, broken up only by small collections of earth movers here and there. The highway was only about 2 miles straight east of them, with just graded land in between.

"Let's head for the ridge, see what's on the other side. If nothing else, we can move along on the far side of it south for a ways before we try going east to the road again."

"Okay," said Juliet, still sounding a bit breathless.

They had made it almost to the edge of the graded area when they heard the sound of an engine behind them. Lassiter spun around and saw headlights. It was the SUV, driving towards them and bouncing on the rough ground. In the last dregs of the light he could see the tires spitting out dirt behind it as it accelerated around the cluster of earth movers and headed roughly in their direction.

"Dammit!" he growled, feeling a cold spike of dread in his chest. "Jump down! Maybe they haven't seen us yet."

He followed Juliet over the edge of the graded dirt, down a three-foot slope to the harder packed dirt of the untouched ground. There were a few bushes nearby but nothing that would keep them hidden from a truck's headlights, and there was still just enough light that they couldn't run without drawing attention to themselves. They crouched low, laying against the slope and trying to blend in as much as possible with the dirt and shadows as the engine noise got louder and louder. Lassiter wondered if the truck would come jumping over them off of the grade, flying through the air like a movie stunt. When the sound became so loud it almost seemed that would happen, there was a skidding noise as the truck stopped very near the edge. Lassiter figured it had to be within thirty feet of their position. Juliet was laying on her left side, facing Lassiter who was laying on his right. Their eyes met, mirrors of anxious anticipation, as they waited to see what would happen.

For a few excruciating moments, there was no sound except for the idling engine. Then a voice rang out. "Hey, cops! I'm pretty sure you can hear me! You holed up somewhere. Ain't hard to figure that out. So listen up. We just want one thing from you, and you can be on your way. Give us Billy's phone. Don't need to be any more shooting and killing. Just give us the phone."

Juliet's eyes widened as Lassiter's eyebrows drew down in confusion. She gestured to her side and then tapped her chest, to let him know she had the phone in question. His eyebrows went up again and he nodded. She held a hand out and raised her shoulders, asking if they should consider the deal at all. He gave her a horrified look and shook his head. She nodded, knowing that would be his answer, and also because that was her feeling too. Lassiter was craning his neck, trying to get a bearing on where the SUV was idling. He was pretty sure it was north of them, behind Juliet, so he started to back up sticking close to the dirt edge. He wanted to get some distance between them and the truck so they'd have a chance to find a better hiding spot. If the truck came over the edge now, they'd be sitting ducks. He motioned to Juliet to follow his lead. They scooted along as fast as they could.

"Hey! You hearing me? Giving you one more minute to come out, fellas. Don't be stupid!"

Lassiter and Juliet paused. Lassiter mouthed "fellas" and Juliet just rolled her eyes. Still, Lassiter kept in mind that their pursuers were assuming they were after two men. He looked around, squinting in the dimness to see if there was anything resembling cover within range. He knew they were almost out of time. Further along the slope he thought he detected a darker pool of shadows that suggested a small ditch or gully. They might be able to dive into it and evade detection. He was just starting to point it out to Juliet when the engine revved on the SUV and its lights swept out over the edge of the graded area. Lassiter grabbed Juliet and pulled her towards the ditch.

"There's a ditch here, I think," he hissed as he pulled her along. "Get down as low as you can."

They ran another ten feet before they reached the edge of the ditch which turned out to be just a small erosion gully. It was only big enough to hide one of them. The SUV was bouncing noisily down the dirt slope to the hardpack. When it leveled out again it started a wide turn, presumably to sweep the lights around and catch sight of them. Unfortunately, it started to sweep in their direction. In just seconds, they'd be seen.

"Get down, now! I'll try to hide in some bushes."

She tried to voice a protest, but he pushed her into the depression and jumped across to the other side, scanning for anything else that would provide cover. Nothing presented itself besides scraggly brush. He decided the only thing to do was to put distance between himself and Juliet. If he could draw them away, she might have a chance of escaping. He ran full-tilt for the ridge to the west. If he could run fast enough, he had a chance of avoiding the headlights, and if he could get up the ridge they wouldn't be able to follow with the truck. There was only a hint of light left in the sky, and the earth in front of him was a mystery as he ran. He stumbled on uneven ground and barreled through the brush. He kept his eyes on the ridge, so he saw when the beam of the headlights brushed across the ridge slope and turned inexorably towards him. He wondered if he should dive to the ground or turn or just keep running when the decision was made for him by a large stone that snagged his toe and sent him flying. He caught himself on his arms and face and skidded across the ground for several feet. The lights of the truck stopped, illuminating the area just a few feet in front of where he lay near the shadowy base of the ridge. He spit out a mouthful of dirt and tried to keep himself from coughing, holding himself as still as possible. Miraculously, he had fallen behind a heartier bush than most.

"Olly olly oxen free! I see a little cloud of dust kicked up there. This is better than hunting coyotes at night."

The voice sounded mocking, but Lassiter detected a hint of frustration in it too. He blinked, clearing some dirt from his eyes, and peered through the bush at the truck that was about 20 yards away. He could see someone standing up through the sun roof, meaning there were at least two men. The guy who kept talking didn't have a Spanish accent, so he was probably the local contact for the drug gang. Perhaps he was in the pictures on the cell phone as well. Lassiter wondered if Juliet was running away now to get help. He had a sinking feeling she wasn't, and he scolded himself for not thinking to order her to run for the road. She had the evidence, and it would've been a great chance for her to escape. His suspicions were confirmed, however, a moment later when he detected a blur of movement in the shadows behind the truck. He cursed himself again and reached slowly down to pull out his gun in preparation for whatever Juliet had planned. He heard two shots ring out, then another two. A loud hissing could be heard over the shocked yell of the man in the truck who ducked back down inside the vehicle. She'd shot out at least one of the tires, probably two. Lassiter stretched out his arms and aimed at the lights as the truck started to back up, blowing them out with two shots to each headlight. He saw another blur of shadow on the far side of the truck and realized Juliet was making a run for the ridge. He stood up and started running for it again as well, holstering his gun.

He could hear muffled voices behind him, the men in the truck yelling, he guessed. Getting fired on from two different directions must've confused them. Maybe they'd get frightened or frustrated enough to give up the chase. He wished. He finally reached the base of the sloping hill and scrambled up. About halfway, the hill became steeper and rockier and he had to feel around for handholds and footholds. Luckily, the steep section was fairly small and he felt the top edge. He pulled himself up over the lip of the ridge and lay at the top for a moment on his belly to catch his breath. Looking back down at the truck, he wondered if the men were following or sticking with the vehicle. He saw a small light bobbing around and figured they were checking the tires. A noise ahead of him along the ridge caught his ear. He heard a faint scrambling noise and a grunt of exertion. Juliet was climbing up. Peering through the darkness, he thought he could see her about 15 yards away. Suddenly the dirt and rock just inches from his face exploded as he heard the crack of a rifle. He yelled and covered his right cheek and eye as he rolled away from the edge. The thought flashed in his head: hunting rifle, with a night scope. So the man in the truck was the sniper. His face burned and he felt a stab of dread that his eye had been injured by flying rock. Both eyes were watering and his right was squeezed shut with pain.

"Carlton!" hissed Juliet.

He craned his neck and blurrily saw her running at the top edge of the ridge. "Get down!" he barked with panic, envisioning the fuzzy green image of her that the sniper was viewing through the scope in that second.

He lunged to his feet and took two giant strides towards her, meeting her and turning so he was between her and the truck. At the same time, he tilted them both towards the far slope of the ridge and pushed off, forcing her and himself towards the ground just as another crack sounded from the truck. He grunted and tried not to land directly on top of Juliet as they hit the dirt and started rolling down the far hillside. They were a tangle of arms and elbows, knees and legs as they tumbled down the hill. For a few chaotic seconds, he thought the ground would forgive them and remain a gentle slope, but then the earth disappeared briefly as they fell off a four foot drop, landing in a heap.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Juliet gazed up at the blue-black sky that was filling with new stars as she tried once again to remember how to breathe. The whole not-breathing experience was growing old, very quickly, along with the rest of their situation out here in the middle of nowhere. She gaped, waiting for her lungs and diaphragm muscles to remember their jobs. It would help if her partner wasn't sprawled across her torso. She moved her left hand and felt Lassiter's head on the ground next to it. She put her hand on his head and patted it, trying to rouse him. They'd landed perpendicularly after the fall off of the hill with his whole upper body covering hers.

"Carlton," she breathed, finally feeling her respiratory system waking up again. Now for her partner. "Carlton, get up."

Lassiter groaned and shifted, pushing himself up shakily until he was on hands and knees above her, which was a welcome relief to her battered torso. "Juliet," he said groggily. "Are you okay? Did I land on you?"

"I'm fine. I'll be fine. Are you okay?"

He sat back on his heels so he was kneeling next to her and put a hand up to his face. "His first shot just missed my head. I'm not sure if my eye is cut or not."

Juliet struggled to a sitting position, feeling as if she'd done a thousand crunches and obliques. She pulled the flashlight from her belt and held it mostly covered by her hand so that she could see her partner's face without making too bright a light. No telling where there attackers were. They'd have to get to cover again as soon as possible. She examined Lassiter's face quickly. There were several large and many small scratches on his cheek and forehead around his right eye.

"Open your eye."

"It's hard," he said, using his fingers to hold his right eye open for her inspection.

"I think it's okay. It's probably a little scratched, though. Can you see with it?"

"Blurry, but yeah. Hurts like hell," he said, grimacing and blinking at the new rush of tears the examination had triggered in the eye. He looked at her, trying to clear his vision and still appearing woozy, when his gaze suddenly focused. "Juliet, you're bleeding."

He was gazing at her right side. She looked down and saw a swath of blood across the vest and soaking into her suit coat below it. But it made no sense for the blood to be on top of the vest. She looked back at Lassiter and saw a red stain spreading out from underneath his vest on his right side, just above the waist.

"It's not me, Carlton," she said.

He looked down as she aimed a thin beam of the flashlight onto his shirt. "Oh, hell," he said. He picked at his shirt and lifted the vest up an inch or so to reveal a hole just under the bottom edge of the protective vest. "The second shot. I was reaching out to grab you, musta raised the vest enough to stop it from blocking the bullet. Lucky."

Juliet drew in a shaky breath, feeling the beginnings of panic as she leaned around to look at his back. The entry point was just above the waistband of his pants on the outside of his lower torso. It looked like the bullet had gone through the outer edge of skin and first inch or so of muscle only. She looked at the front again and felt a small flash of relief that he probably didn't have any kind of organ damage. It was still bleeding, though, and it would hinder him.

"I didn't even feel it before, but now that I know it's there, it hurts like a bitch," he said with an alarming, almost amused-sounding tone. "That's so weird."

"Just relax," said Juliet, wondering if she meant Lassiter or herself. "Take it easy." Her brain was buzzing trying to figure out how to help her partner and wondering how impaired he would be and how to find a new shelter, because she just knew in her bones that their attackers were going appear again any second. As confirmation, grunts and scrambling sounds reached them from somewhere above.

Lassiter lurched to his feet and then stumbled, stifling a gasp of pain. He leaned on her for a moment when she stood up to support him, but then he steadied and pulled out his gun. They both started scanning around desperately for somewhere to hide. Stretching out west of them was a large field of grapevines, and beyond it they could make out a twinkling security light at what was probably some kind of vineyard building. Lassiter took a limping step towards the field, his face contorted with a grimace of pain. Juliet turned to look behind them at the hill they'd fallen down. She squinted into the shadows, realizing with a leap of triumph that the four foot drop-off they'd been subjected to might hold their salvation. There was a small, cave-like depression under the overhang they'd fallen from. She grabbed at Lassiter's arm and pulled him towards it. They ducked down and backed themselves up under the small ledge as far as they could, laying almost on their sides as they tucked themselves in tightly. More scrabbling sounds reached them from very near. Juliet wondered if rabbits felt this way, panicking at any sound while holding stock still. She was pretty sure her heart was beating as fast as a rabbit's right then.

They heard more scraping and skidding noises, and then the thudding sounds of boots running down the last part of a hill. They still couldn't see the men, though. Juliet realized she was holding her breath. She could hear Lassiter's quick shallow breaths that almost sounded like panting. They had backed up into the depression shoulder to shoulder and then had been forced to lay over more and more until they were almost on their sides. Juliet's right shoulder was resting on Lassiter's left hip, and they'd drawn their legs up as far as possible. She felt a pang of regret when she realized he was laying on his wounded side, and the awkward position had to be causing him more pain. He was supporting himself on his right hip and elbow, and holding his gun towards the opening. She put her left hand on his left arm and gave a small squeeze. She felt more than saw him nod his head.

Harsh whispers, so close it made them both flinch. About 10 yards away, the men walked into their view, exchanging heated words in Spanish. The mens' backs were to the ridge and their hiding place. They were scanning the grapevines and arguing about something. Juliet couldn't make out much because the men were whispering and were facing away, but they seemed to be disagreeing over which direction to search. The sniper held up his rifle and walked slowly along the edge of the field, sighting down each row of grapevines, looking for movement. The other man checked his handgun and loaded a fresh clip. Juliet could feel Lassiter's arm start to tremble slightly under her hand, but whether it was from pain, fear or anger she wasn't sure. Probably all three. The sniper lowered his gun and gestured south, along the outer edge of the field. The other man pointed towards the distant lights of the buildings. The sniper shook his head and headed south. After a pause, the other man chambered a round in his gun and followed. They waited, still hardly daring to breathe, for several minutes. Finally, Lassiter started to scoot forward slowly, holding out his gun just in case. They emerged from their hiding spot, listening intently for any sound of their pursuers returning.

"I see the highway," breathed Lassiter. "Not far beyond that building, across the field. It must curve back around there."

She looked back at the hill, wondering if they should try to return the way they'd come. But it looked like a looming mountain now, and she was pretty sure Lassiter wouldn't be able to climb it with his wound. "Should we go that way?" asked Juliet turning and indicating the direction opposite the one their attackers had taken around the field.

Lassiter shook his head and pointed at the nearest row of grapevines that led straight to the distant building. "No. Let's go straight through. We should get there sooner that way, I hope. We can dig in there, or get on past them and head for the highway." He seemed about to say more, but he hesitated and grew quiet again, his grimace visible to her in the dimness.

"How's your side? Has the bleeding stopped?" She leaned over to peer at the wound, seeing that he'd been holding it with his left hand which was now shiny with blood. "We need to put something on that."

He shook his head. "No time, let's go," he said curtly as he started for the grapevines, not waiting for her assent. He held up his gun in the direction the men had taken as he moved to the field, but he kept his left hand on his wound instead of using it to steady his weapon.

Juliet sighed and walked quickly to catch up, aiming her own gun to the left until they'd reached the field. They entered the vines and started down the row, the plants brushing against their shoulders and occasionally smacking them in the face. As they walked, she holstered her gun again and began to take off her vest.

"What the hell are you doing?" hissed Lassiter, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"You need a bandage," she hissed back. She shrugged off her vest and started to slip her suit coat off. "This is bloody anyway." She took her cell phone out of one of the pockets, checking it quickly for a signal. No luck. She took the paper package out of the other pocket and pulled the cell phone out of it, dropping the paper in their wake. She put both phones into her pants pockets.

"Here, hold this," she said, holding out her coat. Lassiter huffed and paused to take the coat before moving forward again. Juliet slipped her vest back on.

"Okay, stop."

"No."

She felt a sudden flush of anger. "Dammit, Carlton! What good is it going to do us for you to bleed out?"

"I'm not bleeding out, and we need to move, not stop to play nurse." He quickened his pace.

She ground her teeth and walked more quickly to catch up to him. "Maybe you're not bleeding out, but you're not holding your gun properly, either," she growled, knowing from experience how effective a jab about proper procedure would be against him. He pulled up abruptly and whirled to face her, using his gun hand to brush at some vines that smacked him in the head. He still kept his left hand to the wound.

"Muzzle control, Carlton," she whispered, trying to soften the tone of her voice now that she'd gotten him to stop.

She could almost see his eyeroll as his shoulders slumped. He released a growling sigh. "Fine," he clipped. He holstered his gun and bunched up the coat in his hand, holding it to the wound. "There, can we go now?"

She performed an eyeroll of her own and said, "Give it here." She took the coat and folded it inside out, trying to make a rough rectangle out of it. She wanted to wrap it around so it would cover both entry and exit wounds. She folded the middle part of the coat, keeping the arms out, then wrapped it around his waist putting the bulk of the middle over the wounds as he held his vest up out of the way. She moved to his other side and pulled the arms together to tie. He grunted at all of the jostling, and she could feel his anxiety to move again radiating from him. The coat arms were just barely long enough to tie together very well. She wasn't sure the knot would hold.

"What are you doing now?" he hissed.

"We need to tie the arms of the coat together better. I'm going to use my bra," she said as she started to shrug off her vest again.

"NO!" he almost yelled, keeping it to a horrified rasp at the last moment. She could almost see the whites of his eyes flash in the darkness. "Oh my God, no!" He started to back away from her, holding up his hands, both hands, to ward her off. "It's fine. It'll hold."

She was shocked to feel a laugh try to bubble up as she watched his retreat. "Okay, okay," she said, taking pity on him. "Let's go. If it starts to loosen maybe we can use a belt."

"Yes, a belt," he said with exasperation as he turned and hobbled towards the building. "I wish you would've thought of that before scaring me half to death."

This time she did laugh.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

They were only about halfway across the field, and Lassiter was fighting his growing sense of anxiety. Part of the problem was his increasing fatigue and the pain of the wound. Another part was the doubts that were starting to plague him. He was afraid they wouldn't make it to the building before the sniper and his buddy. Maybe they should just stay in the grapevines. Or they could've gone back the other direction entirely, except that he wouldn't have been able to climb that hill again. Juliet could, though. The plan forming in his head was becoming clearer to him, but he knew she wouldn't like it. Maybe that's why he was feeling anxious, anticipating the coming argument with his partner. She was hard to argue with normally, and he wasn't feeling up to par. Hell, he'd almost been subjected to having her bra tied around his waist just now. He shivered again at the thought and tried to quicken their pace.

He decided it was time to bite the bullet and have the conversation he was dreading, but he'd start at the beginning and ease into it. "Juliet," he began, keeping his voice low. "I think this has all been an inside job."

"The ambush?"

"Yes. Only the sheriff's office knew we were coming tonight to get Earle, and even they didn't know it until 20 minutes before we arrived. The drug gang or whoever it is who attacked us had to be tipped off from within."

Juliet was silent for a few moments. "Wow," she said finally, with a tone of sadness. "Do you think it's the sheriff?"

"No. I think it's the deputy, Andy Spark."

"Why?"

"Because he didn't see you. He left before you came in, and these guys said 'fellas' back there like they think my partner is a man. The sheriff would know better."

Juliet was quiet again, contemplating the implications. Lassiter rubbed at his right eye with the back of his left wrist. At least his eye had mostly recovered from the near-miss shot. It had watered enough to flush out the dirt and was barely blurry anymore.

They were getting closer to the building, and the light from the security lamp on the south corner of it was making it easier to see, and easier to be seen. Lassiter instinctively started to crouch lower as they approached, but it was hard to do because of the wound. The damned thing was just a glorified flesh wound, barely a perforation, but it hurt and the ache was spreading out from it and invading the other parts of his body. He just wanted to sit down and hold still for a while until the ache faded. Sleep would be good, really good, but it wasn't going to happen any time soon. He shook his head, frustrated with his wandering thoughts. His brain was starting to feel muddled and that was a bad thing. They needed to get out of this situation soon. He gestured to Juliet and started to slow down as they got closer to the edge of the field. They were approaching the north corner of the building, which appeared to be some kind of barn, probably for storage of the grapes during harvesting. The eastern side of the barn, the side they were approaching, was obscured by several stacks of large, square plastic bins used for the grape harvest. The bins were about 4 foot by 4 foot and stacked 3 high. The northern side of the barn was dark. Lassiter decided they'd have to run for it and stick to the shadows as much as possible. He dropped to a crouch and peered through the vines, looking for any movement.

"Juliet," he whispered as he continued to look through the vines. "I want you to run to the highway and get help." She drew her breath in sharply, but before she could speak he said, "Look, it's not far. You can get there quickly, quicker than me. I'll stay here and cover you. If they show up, I can keep them busy, give you more time to get to the road and flag down help." He was trying to roll out as many of the reasons he thought this was a good idea as he could before she stated her counter-argument, which he figured would be something along the lines of him being an idiot.

"No, Carlton, I'm not leaving without you," she whispered. "We shouldn't split up."

"I think we have to. You need to get that phone back safe," he said, not adding the 'and yourself' that he was thinking because he knew it would instantly torpedo his chances. "It won't do anyone any good for us to both end up dead and buried in this grape field."

"Gah!" she said, loud enough to startle him. He turned to look at her. "Dammit, Carlton, this is no time for macho stupidity."

"I beg your pardon?" He raised his eyebrows and stared at her in disbelief.

"You threw me in that ditch and then you ran off. You were trying to draw them away from me, right? And now you're trying to do it again?" she rasped. Her eyes were burning with anger. "I'm no damsel in distress here. I don't need to be saved. We need to stick together."

He drew in a breath as his own anger started to build in answer to hers. "I am still your commanding officer, and I will order you to go, if I have to," he growled. But then his anger dissipated. He shook his head and sighed. "I don't think you're a damsel. I think you're a damned good officer who can do this job that needs to be done."

Her brow furrowed, and she seemed taken aback by his change in tone. "Carlton..."

"I can't move very fast. You can. If we both go, they might track us down, and with that night scope we won't even know they're on us until at least one of us is dead. If I distract them here, you'll be in the clear. And then you can bring back a whole damned army for all I care to get my ass out of here. If anyone's a damsel in distress, it's me."

She closed her eyes with a sigh and shook her head. "Okay. But I still think it's macho bullshit."

"Fine. If I get killed, you have my blessing to put that in your report to the chief."

"Don't say that!" she said as she dug out an extra ammo clip. "Here."

"Thanks," he said, taking the clip. They both checked their weapons, making sure the clips were full. She sniffed and rubbed at her nose a couple of times as she examined her weapons.

"Do you want this one too?" she asked, indicating the second gun she had from the men they'd killed.

"Sure. You know me, the more guns the merrier," he said wryly, trying to lighten the mood a bit as he took the gun and tucked it into his waistband. He noticed her eyes starting to look watery and he wanted to avoid dealing with any crying. His nerves were shot enough as it was.

She gave him an exasperated look and sighed again. "Okay. Dammit I still don't like this idea."

"I know. I don't really like it either, but I think we should do it."

"Okay," she said again, looking away at the building.

Lassiter approached the opening of the vine row and peered intently to the south from where the men would probably approach. There was still no sign of them, so he gestured to Juliet. Then he took off in a crouching run that made him feel as if hot knives were being poked into his side. He ran to the northern face of the barn and stood for a moment with his back to the wall, grimacing and waiting for his breath to steady. He looked around the edge of the barn, but the stacks of bins blocked his view, so he scooted over to the stack, which was taller than him, and peered around it. There was still no movement to the south, so he waved Juliet over. She ran low and fast to his side. He moved back to the north wall of the barn and to the far corner. He saw a red flash of tail lights and guessed the road was less than a mile away, straight across another scrubby field from their position. Juliet saw it too and nodded. Then they heard voices. He ran back to the other corner and peered around the stacks of bins. The two men were coming up a gravel road that was probably the access road to the barn from the highway. He had guessed right about beating them to the barn with a straight route. The men stopped at the edge of the light from the security lamp and seemed to be in another heated discussion. Then the sniper pulled out a walkie talkie.

"Okay, it's time for you to go," said Lassiter, neglecting to tell Juliet that the men were contacting someone else. If they were calling in reinforcements, it made little difference to the need for her to get herself and the evidence to safety. "Go now, head straight west to that road. I remember a small gas station. It can't be more than a few miles away. Hopefully you'll be able to flag down a ride before then."

"Stay hidden if you can, Carlton. Don't try to take them on alone."

He looked at her, seeing the mix of frustration and worry in her face. "I'll try, partner."

She nodded, not looking appeased, and then she ran to the other corner of the barn and off into the darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Lassiter looked back at the men who were still in the same position, presumably listening to whoever was on the other end of the walkie talkie. Suddenly the sniper gave a yell of frustration into the device and seemed about to throw it at the ground, stopping himself at the last moment. The men started to walk towards the barn, moving out of his view. He pulled out his weapon and peered around the edge of the stack which was closest to the barn, trying to determine their position through the gap between the barn wall and the stacks. The gap was barely big enough for him to squeeze into, if he needed to, but his movements would be severely hampered. He hoped to avoid having to do that. He couldn't see anything, so he moved to the other edge of the stack. There was a familiar fluttering in his chest, and he paused. Ducking down as low as possible, he peeked quickly around the edge. The sniper was 20 feet away. He ducked back around the edge and tried to keep his sudden outrush of breath as quiet as possible. The sniper had luckily been aiming his rifle towards the grapevines, still looking for signs of them in the field. If he'd been looking down the stacks he would've seen him for certain. A cold spike pierced his chest. Where was the other man? He hadn't seen him. His mind raced with the possibilities, none of which were good.

He scooted slowly towards the barn and decided he had to squeeze into the gap between the stacks and the wall. He pulled out one of the other guns from his waistband and then put his back to the barn. The north corner was only a couple of feet away. Just as he was squeezing his way into the gap, the other man came around the corner of the barn and saw him. The man yelled and Lassiter pushed himself further into the gap and down as the man raised his gun. Lassiter fired with his left hand, sending the man scurrying out towards the grape field. He could hear the two men yelling in Spanish. He scooted back further until he could see through the opening between the next stack of bins. He held his left hand covering the north gap and his right hand covering east as he looked out between the stacks towards the grape field. A body entered his line of sight to the east and he fired with his right hand, hearing a yelp of pain. He thought he might've hit a leg, probably of the sniper judging from the string of curses being yelled now in English. He swallowed and flicked his eyes back and forth from gap to gap and occasionally to the far end of the gap to the southern corner of the barn. He tried to steady his breathing as the reality of his situation took hold. He started kicking himself for getting into such a bind, but he shook off those thoughts and focused on the positives. He'd nicked one of them, and he was damn sure going to do more damage before they got to him. It was cold comfort.

A face appeared from the north corner and he fired again. Two shots rang out hitting the barn wall, but not coming near him. Fine, waste bullets, he thought grimly. The men held a quick discussion, then suddenly there was movement in both the north and east gaps in the same instant. He heard more shots ring out as he fired both of his guns, knowing he couldn't aim effectively but hoping to scare them into not trying that tactic again. He felt himself trembling and tried again to steady his breathing. He heard more cursing.

"Okay, okay, cop. We get it. You're like Clint Eastwood or something. Let's go back to our offer. Give us the cell phone and we'll just take off."

Lassiter kept silent and stayed diligent on checking all of the gaps.

"Alright you son of a bitch, if that's the way you want it." He heard the men discussing something, then he heard the sniper key up the walkie talkie again.

"You need to be here, right now," the sniper said. "This is your mess too, so you're gonna help us clean it up or else. Stop being such a priss. It's time you got your hands dirty."

The device crackled and then spit out a voice that said, "Fine. I'm on my way."

Lassiter realized the sniper must be talking to the deputy, Spark. His mind raced, trying to figure out some way to get out of the hole he'd dug himself into. He couldn't take on three men. He heard more discussion.

"Hey, cop. Where's your partner?"

Lassiter realized the sniper was trying to stall and figured it was time to start talking. "What partner?"

"Very funny. Where's your partner?"

"Dunno," he said, hoping for the man to become irritated enough to do something stupid. He kept looking from gap to gap, but the strain was starting to make him feel dizzy. Something was going to give, soon. "Maybe back to town by now, calling in my backup."

"Hah! If that's so, then he's gonna find a little smudge where you used to be when he gets here," said the man maliciously.

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Anyone ever told you you're an asshole?"

He heard something moving on the other side of the stacks. He shifted, feeling his muscles tightening. In an odd moment of focus, he realized his foot was beginning to fall asleep. He looked down the gap towards the south corner and wondered if he should try scooting along, just in case an opening arose and he could make a run for the other side of the barn. There wasn't much cover over there, though. These stacks were the only good cover around, and they weren't even good. He took a deep breath, and then another. He heard a noise again, on the other side of the northern-most stack of bins. There was a creaking, squeaking noise, and then the face of the stack in front of him seemed to shift. They were trying to tip the stack over onto him. He looked to the south and saw movement. They were trying to flush him out.

As the stack reached the tipping point and began to collapse both towards the next stack and loomingly towards the barn wall, he decided to go against the grain. He moved to his left, towards the north corner, squeezing between the falling stack and the barn and diving so that he landed on his left side on the ground, both guns raised. The other man was still pushing on the stacks when he emerged from the gap, a shocked look on his face when he saw him appear. Lassiter opened fire with both guns, hitting the man at least twice before he was able to duck behind the toppling bins, crying out in pain. Lassiter scrambled to his feet and ran around the shadowy north wall of the barn. He had an idea that he figured was probably too crazy to consider, so he decided to just do it. He kept running, as fast as he could with his half-asleep foot and perforated side, full tilt around the far side of the barn, around the south corner and the south wall. As he ran he threw away the gun in his left hand and reached around for the other one. At the south corner of the barn, under the security light, he paused briefly to peer around the corner. The man he had shot was hunched over, gun dangling in his hand, as he spoke rapidly in gasping Spanish to the sniper who was just starting to head around the north wall of the barn. Lassiter held up both guns and ran towards the men, using the remaining stacks of bins as a screen until he was almost upon them.

"Freeze!" he bellowed. "Don't move. Drop your weapons!"

The wounded man glanced up and groaned, dropping his weapon before sitting down heavily on the ground. The sniper flinched and started to turn towards Lassiter.

"I said drop that weapon, right now!"

"Fuck!" yelled the sniper as he threw the rifle to the ground. "Un-fucking-believable."

"Believe it," said Lassiter. "You're both under arrest." He was glad to hear that his voice sounded steady and confident, because the exertion of running around the barn had taken a lot out of him. His legs felt like rubber and he was fighting to keep his arms from trembling too much as he held the guns on the men. He had to get them secured. "You, get on the ground. On your stomach, arms out to your sides."

The other man was still groaning. Blood was flowing out between his hands on his midsection. He toppled over onto his side and kept groaning and mumbling. At least he wasn't going to be a problem. The sniper, however, wasn't complying. He was just standing and looking at Lassiter, eyes narrowed. Lassiter wondered if he should just shoot the guy.

"I said get down on the ground."

"Looks like I did clip you after all, eh cop?" he said, nodding at Lassiter's bloody side. "I thought I mighta."

"Get down on the ground, now!" yelled Lassiter again, getting a sudden sense of foreboding about why the guy wasn't following orders.

"Sorry. Not gonna do that. Good try, though. Really," he said, and then he flashed a wide grin and his eyes seemed to flick to something over Lassiter's shoulder.

He heard the gun retort. Something like a sledgehammer wielded by a giant hit him between the shoulder blades. The whole world seemed to tilt as the ground lifted to smash into him. He lay still, detached from reality and floating, watching his breath stir the dust of the ground and slowly, very slowly, realizing that meant he was still alive, for now. He heard muffled noises above him and felt the guns lifted from under his tired fingers. It was kind of nice, finally getting to lie down and rest for a while, he thought, as his eyes fluttered and closed.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Juliet ran through the darkness, stumbling now and then on uneven ground or low-lying bushes. For the whole run, she chided herself for leaving her partner behind. If he ended up hurt or worse, she would never forgive herself. Heck, he was already hurt. Her partner had been shot, and she'd left him behind to go off running for help. She let out a growl of exasperation and slowed down to a walk. The highway wasn't far now. Unfortunately, she'd only seen one car go by on it while she'd been running. It might take a while to catch a ride, and there was no telling how far the gas station Lassiter had said he'd remembered might be. She saw headlights in the distance, heading south. She started running again, hoping to reach the road in time to flag down the car. But just as she started to run, she heard some faint cracking noises behind her that pulled her up short. She whirled and looked back towards the barn. Those had been gunshots. Her heart sank to her toes. She put her hands on her head and looked from the barn to the highway and back again, torn to the core. God, why did she leave him? She put her hands on her face for a moment and took a deep breath.

Lassiter had told her to go and get help, so she was going to do that. And then she was going to return to the barn and find her partner. She turned back to the road, but she didn't see the car anymore. She ran to the road anyway and started to run along it. Suddenly, she noticed the dark lump of a vehicle pulled over on the side of the road in front of her, facing south. She slowed and stopped, wondering why it was there. She looked around and thought about drawing her weapon. There was something about the vehicle that bothered her. Maybe it was the car that she'd seen driving just now, but why was it stopped? She approached it slowly, peering in the darkness to try and make out details. It was running, but it's headlights were off. An interior light was on inside it, and there was something on top of it. A flash of realization hit her. It was a police car. At first, her heart leapt with joy, but then she remembered Lassiter's theory of the whole thing being an inside job.

"Crap," she hissed to herself. Well, it could be the sheriff, which would be great. Or it could be a different police department altogether, which would also be great. If it was the possibly corrupt deputy, that wasn't so great. She wondered again why it was just sitting out here on the road. Crouching down, she moved back out into the scrub field and skirted around so that she could see better. She stayed low and drew up beside the car, about 30 feet away and saw that someone was definitely inside. He appeared to be talking into a walkie talkie device. She thought it was odd to be using one of those instead of the car's radio. She could barely make out the wording on the side of the squad car, but she was pretty sure she saw a "B" and the word "Sheriff." What she could see of the man looked nothing like Sheriff James. Her instincts were telling her that this had to be Deputy Spark.

The deputy seemed to be listening to someone on the walkie talkie, biting his nails nervously. Then he responded briefly and threw the device onto the passenger seat in a fury. He started the car and pulled it into a sharp U-turn, screeching the tires as he accelerated back in the direction of the barn. Juliet felt a rush of panic and started running after the car, realizing that the corrupt deputy was being summoned to backup their attackers. Her lungs started to burn and her feet felt like lead weights. In the distance she made out the brake lights of the car as it stopped at the mouth of the access road to the barn. Too far, still. Too far. She kept running and forced herself to focus on a plan. She couldn't just run in, guns blazing. Well, she could, but she decided to try and think of a less crazy way first. She considered taking off her vest and approaching the men posing as a stranded motorist. They thought Lassiter's partner was a man. They wouldn't suspect her if she wandered up the road towards a beckoning light. Yes, taking off her ballistic vest and approaching several armed men was much less crazy, she thought ruefully. Just as she reached the squad car, gasping for air and feeling like her legs were on fire, she heard a single shot ring out.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" she hissed, feeling her nerves start to fray beyond repair. She looked at the squad car and decided to do at least one of the things she'd promised Lassiter. She got in and used the radio to contact the Banksville Sheriff's office. The sheriff was shocked to hear from her, and even more so to hear what she had to tell him. By the end of their brief conversation, though, she knew he believed her. He'd caught enough instances of his deputy acting strangely to now realize why. He speculated that Spark's brother Joe was probably the sniper. He said he'd always been a bad seed. The sheriff had hoped Andy joining the department meant he'd gotten out from under Joe's corrupt thumb, but apparently it was the other way around and Joe had gotten a man inside. The sheriff promised to send in the cavalry and cautioned her to stay hidden. She lied that she would. There was no telling what shape her partner was in now, and damned if she was going to just sit around. She'd already left him when she shouldn't have, she wasn't going to hide when he might need her help. If he was still alive. She got out of the car and moved towards the barn.

She kept to the shadows as much as possible and approached the building at an angle. As she got closer, she noticed a large stack of wooden pallets near the access road and used them as a screen. She started to hear voices. From behind the pallets she was able to see two men standing and two men on the ground. Her stomach flipped when she recognized Lassiter lying still at the feet of the deputy and his brother. She stared at him, willing him to move, not able to comprehend the possibility that he wouldn't, realizing after her lungs started to burn that she was holding her breath. She pulled in some air. Just as she was beginning to feel an unbearable tightening in her chest, she saw the deputy's brother, Joe the sniper, push at Lassiter a couple of times with his boot. Lassiter's leg moved slightly, then one of his arms. He was beginning to stir. The two men seemed to be coming to a decision on what to do with her partner. Juliet came to her own decision, as well.

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

"Damn you're a wuss, Andy. You hit him in the vest?"

"He's a cop, Joe. I can't kill a cop."

Joe rolled his eyes and laughed mirthlessly as he leaned over and retrieved Lassiter's guns. "Well, it's about time you got here. Son of a bitch almost got us. Manny doesn't look too good, either."

The brothers walked over to Manny. Joe squatted down to look over the man's injuries. He'd been shot twice, in the upper chest and abdomen. Manny was barely coherent, but he exchanged some words in Spanish with Joe. After a few minutes, he lost consciousness. Andy paced nearby, shooting worried glances at his brother and warily eyeing Lassiter's still form as he chewed relentlessly on his fingernails.

"This is such a mess," he said petulantly.

"No shit, Sherlock. So what are you going to do to help me clean this up?"

"Me? I didn't have anything to do with this. All I did was tell you these guys had come to get Billy tonight. I didn't know you were going to freaking blow him away in their car," said Andy.

Joe stood up and pushed his brother. "I had to, because he was a little bitch, just like you. And he was going to tell these big city cops everything," said Joe, advancing on his brother and pushing him again. "And he had pictures on his cell phone. Did you know about those? Were you just going to let him go with these guys and take the cell phone with him? Why didn't you take it yourself or bust it or something, huh Andy?"

"Shit, Joe, I didn't know that. Billy didn't tell me that."

"Right, you two girls didn't have a gab session in the jail? Sure, I believe you, bro," he sneered.

"Alright, alright. What do you want me to do, then?" asked Andy.

"I'm not sure. We might be screwed. This got way too messy. Maybe we should just toss Manny and this cop into your car and hightail it to the border. Can dump them right before we cross."

"Can't we just leave 'em here, go home and say we were hanging out all night watching basketball or something?"

Andy rolled his eyes and walked over to Lassiter again. He pushed at him with his foot. Lassiter stifled a groan as he was jostled and kept playing dead. He'd been listening for a few moments to the brothers' conversation after drifting back to consciousness. It felt like he'd been hit by a train, and he wasn't sure he could stand, let alone run or fight. So he kept still, hoping for some energy to return while he soaked in as much information about the men as he could. Joe, the sniper, was obviously the brains of the pair. He wasn't easy to fool, either, as he seemed to have figured out Lassiter's opossum routine.

"Wake up, cop," he said as he pushed him again with his foot.

Lassiter grimaced and opened his eyes as he tentatively tried moving his arms and legs. Everything was sore. He thought his eyelashes might even be sore.

"There ya go. You feel up to a ride in a trunk, there, cop?"

"It's detective, asshole."

"Okay Detective Asshole, get up."

Lassiter shot a glare up at Joe as he tried to lift himself off the ground. He managed to get himself onto hands and knees before a wave of dizziness threatened to toss the ground back into his face. He paused, head lowered, until the world slowed its spinning.

"Come on man..." said Joe before he was interrupted by an unexpected voice.

"Hello? Hey, you guys, do you think you can help me out?" yelled Juliet as she wandered slowly up the gravel road towards the barn, walking as if her feet hurt, which they actually did. She wasn't wearing her vest. She paused in the road and waved, smiling brightly. "Hello?"

Joe and Andy both jumped in surprise and then looked at each other with wide eyes. Lassiter flinched at the voice as well. His back was to the road, so he sat back on his heels and twisted to look at his partner.

Joe pushed Andy towards Juliet and hissed, "Man, go see what she needs and don't let her get any closer. Get rid of her."

"Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I found someone out here," she yelled from the distance. She stayed where she was, not approaching any further. "I've been walking for miles in the dark."

Andy ran towards her. Joe turned to Lassiter, keeping his back to Juliet, and whispered, "You keep quiet, cop, til Andy gets her outta here, or she will be dead too." He put his hand on one of the guns he'd tucked into the front of his waistband.

Lassiter just glared in return, but inside he was feeling a rush of adrenalin as he tried to anticipate what Juliet was going to do. Joe had both of his guns. The rifle and Manny's gun were still laying near the north corner of the barn. The only weapons he could really try to get were his own, from Joe. He stretched his neck and shot a glance towards Juliet again.

"Hello, there, miss. Can I help you?" asked Andy as he approached Juliet.

"Oh! Are you a police officer? How lucky!" said Juliet, trying to sound as bubbly as possible, even though her heart was racing.

"I'm Deputy Spark, Banksville Sheriff's Office."

She smiled and pointed past him. "And what's going on over there? Is someone hurt or something? I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but my car went in the ditch." She took a quick step closer to the deputy and moved so that he was blocking her from the view of his brother.

As the deputy turned to look backwards to where she was pointing, she pulled her gun quickly from where it had been tucked in the waistband at her back. When he faced her again, she whispered, "Don't move or say anything, deputy. Hold still or I'll shoot."

Andy's face went white with shock and he just blinked at her.

"Okay, I want you to turn that way just a little bit," she said, motioning him to turn to his left. She got his gun out of his holster. "Great, now walk towards them."

"What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.

"I'm arresting you and your brother, but keep that a secret for now, okay? Don't say anything," she said again as she cocked his revolver and goaded him forward with a push from both guns to the small of his back.

Andy walked somewhat stiltedly forward. When they were most of the way back, Joe turned around to check on his brother. 

"Andy, what the hell?"

"Joe..."

"Hi, there! What's your name?" asked Juliet brightly as she peered around Andy's shoulder, pushing on him more to close the rest of the distance. She met Lassiter's eyes and then looked back at Joe.

"What? Who the hell are you?" asked Joe.

Lassiter saw the realization dawn in Joe's eyes. Juliet had managed to get herself and the deputy within a dozen feet, but the game was finally up. Joe reached for the guns in his waistband. Lassiter tried to get his feet under him, intending to launch himself and tackle Joe, but his body was still uncooperative and he only managed a small lunge that propelled him into the side of Joe's knees. It worked just enough, though, to tackle him to the ground before he could draw the guns.

"Carlton!" yelled Juliet, and tossed one of her guns to him as he looked up at her.

He caught it and scrambled up the back of the struggling man. He put the gun to Joe's head and said, "You're under arrest."

**oOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Ten minutes later, Joe, Andy, and Manny were all lying on their stomachs and handcuffed. Manny was still unconscious but seemed to be breathing well, so they were hoping he'd survive. Joe and Andy were sniping at each other, with frequent mentions from Joe about Andy being caught by a girl and Andy countering about Joe getting tackled by a half-dead cop. Juliet had gathered all of the guns in a pile and had retrieved her vest from behind the pallets. Lassiter had shrugged off his own vest, with Juliet's help, and was glad for the cool air. He wanted to just lie down, but the bruise that was certainly forming in the middle of his back warned him against it. Juliet inspected the makeshift bandage around his waist and satisfied herself that his wounds weren't too serious. She finally released a heavy sigh and sank down to sit next to her partner who was gazing out at the rows of grapevines. The distant sound of sirens approaching from the north reached them.

"Thanks, partner," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," she said, then she punched him in the arm.

"Ow!" he gasped. "What was that for?"

"For telling me to leave you behind," she said, trying to look stern but looking mostly tired and sad instead. "That sucked."

He furrowed his brow. "What are you talking about? It worked perfectly."

She shot him an incredulous look, but then she saw the smirk forming on his face. "Carlton," she said with a long-suffering tone.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I hated doing it. I didn't know if it was the right thing to do." He stared at his hands as he admitted to his self-doubt. Then he almost toppled when she leaned over and wrapped him in a quick, tight hug.

"It's okay," she said. "It worked perfectly."

He smiled brightly at her as the police and other emergency vehicles finally turned up the access road.

The End


End file.
